Top 3 Underrated Western European Cities
London, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin - these are all popular European tourist destinations for North Americans, and for good reason. All of these cities are among the most visited in the world, easily accessible from most major airports and have lots to do. However, I think there are a few lesser known destinations that get overlooked that have equally great history, food and culture that should make your next trip itinerary. There are obviously many to pick from, but here are my top 3 underrated cities in Western Europe.
Methodology: I chose cities that aren’t in the Top 100 of Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index or in Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destinations 2018. Most of these cities aren’t off the beaten path - they are popular weekend getaway destinations for Europeans - but definitely less travelled by North Americans.
Cambridge
The views are spectacular!
Why Chosen: This city of about 120K people, also known as the Silicon Fen, home of many of the worlds top technology companies, is one of the world’s educations centre, mostly known for the University of Cambridge, an 810-year-old institution. With historic old buildings, cute pubs, the location of the first “soccer” game and a fantastic aviation museum (see below), it’s a great place to check out as a day trip from London. I lived here for a year when I was working as a teacher and got to know and love the area - it’s small enough to get a sense of the community even on a day trip but it still has the amenities of a larger city.
How to Get There:
Bus: Take the bus from London Victoria starting at less than £7. This journey takes about 2 hours but it’s the cheapest way to get to Cambridge.
Train: Kings Cross station has trains approximately every 15 minutes to Cambridge, although not all trains are fast ones. The fastest trains will get you to Cambridge in 50 minutes.
Fly: London Stansted airport is only a 30 minute train away, with hourly trains. Low cost carriers Ryanair and EasyJet have multiple daily destinations.
Rent a punt for yourself!
Top Things to See:
Punting - Cambridge punting is a tradition that has been around for almost a century now. Loved by foreign and domestic tourists alike (and locals out for the odd punt) it’s a great way to check out the different colleges in Cambridge from a different angle. My advice, don’t listen to the often embellished stories the tour guides have and rent a punt yourself, it’s not that hard.
Imperial War Museum Duxford - Either on your way in or out of the city, the IWM Duxford is an aviation nerd’s dream. Just outside of the city, this museum is home to one of Britain’s best air shows and one of the original Concorde’s , this is an absolute must, but plan accordingly as you can easily spend 3+ hours here.
The Varsity - Sure there are pubs where they announced the discovery of DNA, but nothing is like the view you get from this rooftop pub. Although drinks aren’t cheap, the view is SPECTACULAR, it was always a crowd favourite for special occasions.
Belfast
Why Chosen: Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. During the Troubles this working class city was a conflict zone that was off-limits to tourists. Since then, Belfast is now a working class city with numerous attractions, a food destination, the birthplace of the Titanic and the centre of Game of Thrones filming site tours.
How to Get There:
Bus: A prepaid bus ticket will cost just 20 euros for the two hour journey from Dublin.
Train: Dublin is just over two hours by train from Belfast with tickets starting at 25 euros for the round trip.
Fly: Belfast has two airports, Belfast International and George Best Airport. If you’re connecting from Canada, you can fly via Amsterdam on KLM, via Dublin on Aer Lingus and via London Heathrow on British Airways.
A sight to see, the Titanic Museum
Top Things to See
Titanic Museum - This museum opened in 2012 and cost over £100 Million, and tells the story of the Titanic and her sister ships. Located in the same area of the port where the real ship was built, this museum is architecturally impressive, with the idea being this museum would create a similar buzz like the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
Important Info - Located a 30 minute walk from the city centre in the Titanic Quarter. It costs £19 for an adult or £46.50 for a family of 4. For more information, check out their website.
Belfast Giants Hockey - I’m sure you must be thinking “hockey - in Belfast?” but this really is a hockey town at heart. They are the most recent champions of the British Elite Ice Hockey League, averaging a crowd of 4,500 people every game. When the team first started it was advertised as a place for everyone, regardless of religion, which has brought Belfast locals together in masses. The team’s colours were chosen to be as neutral as possible which allows the whole city to come out and enjoy the play on the ice. Hockey fan or not, it’s a great place to have a beer and check out some local culture.
Important Info - When in season (September - April) they play in SSE Arena Belfast, less than a 20 minute walk from the city centre. Tickets are much cheaper than the NHL, only £16 a person! For more information, check out their website.
Belfast Giants Hockey (Source: BelfastGiants.com)
Black Cab Tour - During the second half of the 20th century Northern Ireland was a hotbed of violence that killed over 3500 individuals, as the Irish Republican and Ulster loyalist residents fought over the future of the area that is now Northern Ireland. Although the conflict was settled by the Good Friday Agreement, Belfast is still divided by almost 100 “peace lines” that line the city separating Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods. Nowadays, you can take a tour along the front line, seeing both sides of the wall, and the murals that line them.
Important Info - Black Taxi tours offers 90 minute tours with pick ups from your hotel for £40 for two people. For more information and booking, check out their website.
San Sebastian
Why Chosen: THE FOOD!!! Lonely Planet called San Sebastian the best food experience in the world, newspapers have sections dedicated to the city’s food scene, and there are 34 (!!!) Michelin Star restaurants in the city - yet it’s not always on the itinerary of North American tourists. This Basque city, also named the European Capital of Culture in 2016, is home to pinchos (or pintxo); bite size snacks that are all along the bar tops in the beautiful old city centre.
Pinchos for days!
How to Get There:
Bus: Connections to Barcelona are 8 hours by bus (39 Euro), about 4 hours to Bordeux (15 Euro) or just over an hour from Biarritz.
Fly: Although the local airport has flights to Madrid and Barcelona, it’s best to fly to Bilbao which has flights to numerous European cities including Aer Lingus from Dublin, KLM from Amsterdam and TAP Portugal from Lisbon to name a few. From the Bilbao airport it’s an hour and 15 minutes by bus, with busses leaving every hour, 45 minutes past the hour.
Train: I’ll let “The Man in Seat 61” give you more information (for any train travel needs), but I took the train from Biarritz, but it’s possible to take the train from Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao or even Paris.
Top Things to See
Pincho Hopping - The famous city centre contains many restaurants that have their pinchos all along the bar. Personally, in 2016 I spent two spring days in the city hopping from bar to bar, playing cards, eating and drinking at every bar. The meals were incredible, never expensive, and the wine was free flowing. I recommend making a few friends and just spending a day eating and drinking in the city.
Important Info - Just head to the city centre and start exploring bars!
I spent ~6 hours at this bar eating, drinking and playing cards - the bill for the six of us was less than 150 Euro.
Surfing - You might be full from eating, but an early morning surf lesson is a great way to make some room for more food. Not necessarily the warmest water (it’s only about 22 degrees in the summer), but this is a great place to learn to surf.
Important Info - You can rent a board or take lessons at numerous surf schools including the Zurriola Surfe Skola and a surf hostel, Surfing Etxea.
Guggenheim - Personally I’m not a huge art person, but the Guggenheim in Bilbao is an architectural wonder. Only an hour from San Sebastian, this is a perfect way to start, or end, your trip to San Sebastian. This Frank Gehry masterpiece started a st-architect craze, it’s a must see in the area.
Important Info - Only an hour from San Sebastian, Guggenheim Bilbao tickets cost 17 euros. There are numerous restaurants in the area that have fantastic cheap set menus for a before, or after, meal. For more information, visit the Guggenheim Bilbao website.